Saying Goodbye
by SilverWing321
Summary: What if Thalia had decided to run away before her mom had given Jason up? This is the story of her final goodbye to Jason, her baby brother. One-Shot


**Hi everyone. I was feeling sad today, and I just wrote this one shot 'cause I was bored. It's an AU in which Thalia ran away before her mom gave Jason up. So please, read, review, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :(**

Thalia quietly shuffled around the kitchen, throwing food into her frayed, worn, black backpack. The house was completely silent and dark. She glanced at the clock, and saw it had just turned 2:00 am. Looking into her backpack, she went over her mental checklist. Food, check. Water, check. Clothes, check. Kitchen Knife in case one of those weird monster-things showed up, check.

She was ready. She was leaving this house, and her despicable mother. Her mom had abandoned her just one too many times. She had brushed her aside like she was just some inconvenient chore far too often. Thalia had had enough of it, she was leaving.

Steeling her nerves, she walked over to the back door, and quietly unlocked it. She wondered vaguely if her mother would miss her once she was gone, or if she would even notice she was gone at all. But that didn't matter to Thalia anymore. Her mother was something she was putting behind her.

She turned the door handle, and was about to push open when she heard the rustling of movement behind her.

"Ta'la?" said the soft, sleepy voice of her two year old little brother, Jason.

She turned to see Jason standing there, barefoot on the wooden floor. He was wearing his pajamas, and clutching a small teddy bear at his side. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, looking at her blearily.

"J-Jason?" she whispered, making sure to keep her voice soft so their mom wouldn't wake up, "What are you doing down here?"

"I woke up." said Jason simply. "Ta'la, where you going?"

Thalia put a finger to her lips, telling the little boy to quiet down. "Jason, listen carefully." she whispered urgently, "Thalia is going away, okay? You can't tell mommy that you saw me leaving. It has to be a secret, alright?"

Jason nodded, "Not tell mommy."

Thalia smiled, "Good." Than. she turned back to the door, and it swung open with a soft 'creak'. She was about to leave when Jason suddenly said;

"Ta'la, wait!" Thalia turned in the doorframe, and her two-year-old brother toddled up to her.

"Jason come too!" declared the toddler, holding his arms up, like he was waiting for Thalia to pick him up. A million emotions flashed through Thalia's mind as she looked at her brother. She felt like her mind had just been split into two halves.

One half was shouting _Oh course you should take Jason with you! You can't leave him alone here, with mom! He'll grow up neglected! He'll have no friends! Besides, if you leave, he might forget about you as he grows up!_

But the other half of her mind was screaming_ You can't take him with you, it's too dangerous! You don't know where you're going, you don't know how you're going to get there! You don't even have that much food and water, and half the time, you probably won't have shelter, and who knows what could happen to Jason if monsters shows up?_

At the prospect of letting her brother starve or get hurt, Thalia made up her mind. Better he grew up neglected by their mother than dying, and not growing up at all. And if that meant he forgot about her as he got older, then that was a price she would have to pay.

"No Jason." she said quietly, "You can't come with me. Thalia has go on her own."

"Oh." said Jason sadly. "Ta'la, when you comin' back?"

Thalia took a deep breath. "Thalia isn't coming back, Jason." she said. For a second, Jason stared at her blankly, then his lower lip began to tremble.

"I-I no see Ta'la again?" stuttered Jason. Small tears glistened in the two-year-old's eyes, and Thalia felt her own eyes grow wet as she leaned down, picked up her little brother, and hugged him tight to her chest.

"Shhh, don't say that, Jason." she soothed, "I'll come back for you. I'll come back when I find a home. We'll stay there together, Jason."

She could feel her shirt growing slightly damp from Jason's tears, and she felt a single tear flow from her own eye. Who knew when she would come back, if she got back at all? Would she ever see Jason again?

The thought of never seeing her brother again released a fresh wave of sadness, when a thought even worse struck her. What is she did come back, and Jason couldn't remember her? She hugged the little boy tighter, then put him down onto the kitchen floor.

Jason sniffed, but his tears stopped. Thalia fished around in her jacket pocket, and puller a very old, very crumpled photograph. A photograph of herself. She hadn't looked for months.

Crouching down so she eye level with her brother, she pressed the photograph into Jason's hands.

"Jason, I want you keep this very safe." she said, "And when you see it, I want you remember me."

Jason nodded, and clutched the photograph like a lifeline. "I keep it '_weally_ safe." he said.

Thalia nodded, and suppressing tears, she kissed Jason on his time forehead. "Stay strong, Jason. I love you." she whispered.

Then she stood up, and before she could turn back, before she could stop to reconsider, she stepped out of the house into the cool night air, closed the door behind her, and began to run. The sound of her footfalls echoed up the silent street, carrying her farther and farther from her mother's home. From her brother.

A single tear fell from her face, splattering onto the black pavement as she realized this was the last time she would ever see her baby brother.

At the end of the street, she stopped to catch her breath. She turned to look down the street. Her house was at the other end of the neighborhood, and she could barely see it now.

"Goodbye Jason." she said quietly, "Please don't forget me."

**Did anyone get a feels attack? Did anyone cry?**

**Hehehe, I'm evil :) And, yes, Thalia is very emotional in this, more so than she was in books, but this is a very emotional thing for her! He's saying goodby to her brother for what could be the last time!**

**POLL TIME! I was considering making this a two-shot. So how many people want me to continue, and how many think I should leave it at this? Tell me in your reviews! Thanks for reading!**


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